Sunday, July 5, 2020

Weekly update: the pond is filling up on this holiday weekend

This post is being composed from the shady comfort of our patio.  This is the third afternoon I've sat outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. There's just enough breeze from the northeast (Lake Michigan, a mile away) to make it very pleasant.








If this were a normal year we'd have celebrated Independence Day with a concert in the park followed by fireworks.  Our neighborhood was likely like yours -- lots of firecrackers and a few fireworks being set off in the street this year.  (There have been firecrackers nearly every evening for weeks. We can hear them loud and clear since keep windows open at night rather than run the air conditioning )  Fortunately they did not stay up TOO late.

I made pulled pork in the crockpot for July 4 supper and served it with potato salad and what would have been a five-bean salad except that I didn't have wax beans so I substituted a can of corn.


My mother made the Kraft American flag cake every year.  Here's my version -- a yellow layer cake (from a mix) with powdered sugar/butter icing.   I can't remember the last time I made a layer cake! (I use the bundt pan much more often.)

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In the studio:  16 out of 25 Goose in the Pond blocks.  All the units for #17 are assembled ready to sew.  I've established a sequence for cutting, sewing, pressing, trimming so the process is pretty efficient.

I haven't decided on sashing (yes or no?) and the borders. 






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Narrative nonfiction has grown in popularity over the past couple of decades. It is the genre in which a factual account is written as a story. Generally the author writes about one topic pretty exhaustively.  My reading this week included these narrative nonfiction books:  An Obsession with Butterflies (2003) and And a Bottle of Rum (2007).  I'm about 1/4 into the latter.  Good information, interestingly-presented.

Linking up with Oh Scrap!
 Monday Making
 Design Wall Monday


15 comments:

  1. Goose in the Pond is looking wonderful! I love the secondary effect by placing the blocks together without sashing.

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  2. How coincidental that we are both doing GitP at the same time. I, too, am considering/debating sashing between my blocks. I look forward to seeing what you do.

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  3. Your Goose in the Pond blocks are gorgeous!!

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  4. Oh my - you and Libby are both doing Goose in the Pond at the same time. Be still my heart! If I didn’t already have too many irons in the fire, I’d make it a trio. But it will go on my To Do list (actually, it already has). You asked about borders.... to me, it seems to me that three borders (white-green-white or green-white-green) would look nice. Maybe too predictable? Whatever you come up with will be wonderful, I’m sure.

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  5. love goose in pond blocks...personally would go for no sashing but just my opinion...no doubt it'll be gorgeous either way!

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  6. Lovely GitP blocks! I like them without sashing. Can’t wait to see what you decide. Just finished Liberation by Imogene Kealey. Based on a real person fighting for the Resistance in France. Very good.

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  7. I have seen several quilters making Goose in the Pond blocks and think I need to join the fun. I really like the fabrics you are using for yours.

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  8. Oh your goose in the Pond blocks are beautiful--what a great job on these...nice work
    That Flag cake looks scrumptious...;)))
    ~ ~ ~ waving in our AC ~~~
    Julierose

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  9. Your Goose in the Pond blocks look fantastic! I like them close together without sashing, but it might be easier to add sashing and not have all those points coming together. Either way, it will be beautiful!

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  10. The blocks are gorgeous!! Our neighborhood had lots of big fireworks going off this weekend. Our small city relaxed the ordinances against them this year and folks took advantage. I do love fireworks and got to enjoy them all around us.

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  11. Dessert look yummy and a cool breeze from the lake sounds even yummier. Enjoying those two together - well that makes me so jealous of you!!! Those Goose Pond blocks look finicky so I am not jealous of you. In my opinion, sashing is a PITA but then sometimes it is required for the pattern to make sense. Stay safe, Nan.

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  12. Goose in the Pond is an old favorite of mine but I put it in a sampler. Much more striking here with your careful attention to color.
    We have several fires from fireworks here. Sure wish people would use their heads. But if they did that, they'd also wear masks. Sigh.
    Thanks for the two book recommendations. I didn't realize narrative non-fiction was a category. Always check with a librarian to get the facts straight! :-)

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  13. Sleeping with no ac? Yikes... we've had appx 13 days of 90+ degree temperatures. Some with low humidity but not all that many. I am happy to retreat to my basement studio. I like your G in the Pond blocks. Do my eyes tell me the truth? Is this quilt done in just 2 fabrics and neutrals? I thought you did mostly scrap quilts... but, now that I look more carefully -- these are made with well matched scraps, or so it seems. I'd audition sashing and then decide whether I wanted it or not. I find myself reading more nonfiction than usual but mainly because I'm reading a variety of news sources on my computer. I'm more well informed than I have been for years. Time to get back to sewing. Have a great weekend.

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  14. You and I enjoy similar taste in reading, Nann -- I'm about to start a book on the history of Paper, having tremendously enjoyed a book tracing the history of Salt by the same author! :-). I wasn't aware the genre was called "narrative nonfiction." I love your Goose in the Pond blocks.

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  15. Sounds like a lovely July 4th. Hopefully we'll all be back to regularly scheduled programming next summer (fingers and toes crossed for that). Love your Pond blocks. Happy stitching this weekend.

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